Building a DIY Data-Glove (Part 1)

  For quite some time I have been waiting for a good data-glove to hit the market for use with virtual reality applications. So far the only consumer product that has come remotely close was the P5 glove, which was probably one of the biggest disappointments in my life. Although better data-gloves have existed since the 90’s, they have been so expensive to

Review: Game Coding Complete

Finally, I’ve got around to reading (and finishing) Game Coding Complete, and it’s up there on the list of great game development resources. I’d been meaning to read this book for quite some time, but got distracted with DirectX and Windows hooking for use with my 3D driver. Now that I’m back on the 3D engine kick, it seems like a good time

Half-Life 2 in VR using the Virtuix Omni, Kickstarter Coming Soon

The Oculus Rift is great and all, but it still feels pretty constricting using VR sitting in a chair. The Virtuix Omni plans to change that. Commonly referred to as omni-directional treadmills, the Omni allows you to feel like you are walking, or even running, around a virtual space while in real-life you stay safely in the same spot. This project in particular

Creating a 3D Game Engine (Part 5)

So far I have mostly been talking about plans and theories, not much meat. Today I hope to remedy that with a discussion on main loops. Surely there are tons of different ways a main game loop can function, and I will explain a few of those methods. Keep in mind, I am still developing the architecture for this engine, so anything can

DirectCompute Lecture Series

Well I know this is kind of old, but I am just discovering it and it seems like a good resource. It’s basically a series of videos put together by Microsoft to explain their DirectCompute API. If you’re not familiar with DirectCompute, it’s an API that allows you to write general purpose algorithms and run them on the GPU. Since the GPU is

Creating a 3D Game Engine (Part 4)

So now we should have a good idea of why you’d want to create a 3D engine, and what kind of components make up the engine. Up next we will look at some of the tools and APIs necessary to actually compose the software. Keep in mind that the choices I am making are not necessarily the optimal choices for all situations. In

Creating a 3D Game Engine (Part 3)

Last time I recommended some good books for engine creation. Today I will talk a little bit more about what an engine actually is, since it’s rather silly to try to create something that is undefined. What I am defining a 3D game engine as is “a framework or set of tools that abstracts complexity and enables creation of real-time 3D experiences.”  It’s

Original Horror Game on Kickstarter

Seems like Kickstarter is just churning out hits lately, and this project could be the next success. It’s an original horror game where you play as a two year old boy. The early prototype videos look compelling, and I like that they are attempting a different theme with the title. Should be awesome, but they still have a ways before meeting their goal.

Creating a 3D Game Engine (Part 2)

With the first part of this series I have listed a few motivating reasons for developing a 3D game engine in the first place. In this next part I will go deeper into some of the research I have been doing for amassing the skills I feel are necessary to actually complete a project like this. As I have mentioned, one of the